Why is Load Testing Useful for Nonprofits
Needing to know and understand the capabilities of a software or server is a portion in testing the limits of said programming. A commonly used practice of performance testing is a process called load testing which can be done with tools like LoadView and LoadRunner. This involves putting a certain amount of stress on a computer, software application, or IT system, to measure what it is able to withstand. Putting a load on a system that is well above its normal capacity is a separate process named stress testing, and for good reason.
There is no clear distinction as to when a test transitions from an average load to a stress test. Load testing can be done in a few ways. One would be to test the longevity of the software, or also called endurance. Another would be to test volume or in other words, the amount of workload that it is able to handle. However, is the developed software is not equipped to handle the load test due to its flaws, then what is intended to be a load test at first can quickly become a stress test without that intention? So ensure that before a load test is conducted, that the software or program is up to certain standards, in order to avoid a stress test that was not meant to occur. Some examples of load testing may include the following.
● Running a series of multiple applications on a server/software
● Downloading large files onto the computer
● Having the server cope with lots of traffic
Where is load testing conducted?
Load testing can be conducted in a few different settings. One could be in a well monitored lab area in which the server is under constant surveillance. As well as in the field where genuine real life data can be collected.
Why is load testing useful for nonprofits?
When it comes to testing the longevity of the system, this is to see whether the server has a high endurance. Essentially it is supposed to tell how long the system is able to run over a period of a constant moderate work load. As for volume testing, it involves evaluating if the system is able to handle a large amount of work or activity over a short time period. Both load testing and stress testing can play a crucial role in determining how well the computer, software, application etc, handles. The point of stress testing is to purposefully overload the system in order to see how far it can manage outside the boundaries of its expected performance.
Even if you’re running a nonprofit website, it’s important to understand that the faster it loads and the more reliable it is, the easier it is to get your message out to people, and this can be hard to do if you’re using low quality web hosting or you aren’t testing your servers properly. The first step is really to try and find the best web hosting for nonprofits, and then once you know you’re on a good server, you can go ahead and optimize your website to handle the load and performance. You’d be surprised at how many nonprofits forget about things like this when trying to build their websites.
While the goal of a load test is to see the maximum amount of stress a system is able to handle without having a significant downfall in performance. Load testing is a great measurement of your servers performance under realistic situations. It analyzes specific software for the intent of a multi user experience. The server is put through actual and virtual users that vary in number. Overall performance is then measured over these various numbers of users. This helps to pinpoint the areas of improvement for the software as a whole.